Now, Brooks has opened up about the controversial moment on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, telling the host that he felt like it was the best decision considering not only the show, but his fans.

“We did 12 shows in 10 days, and right in the middle of those 12 shows was CMAs. So we went in and did a track for it, just in case the voice was gone,” Brooks shared. “Made a game-time decision and played it because we still had seven shows starting the next night in Spokane.”

“The truth is, I love award shows. I think they’re sweet,” Brooks added. “But for me, they’re like the tree is to Christmas—they’re the symbol of it, but they’re not what it’s all about. What it’s about is those people that put their butts in the seat, travel, fight that traffic, pay that parking and go. That’s who you want to save your voice for. So we made that decision. If it happened again tomorrow, I’d make the same decision.”

The country star also displayed some serious cool by barely batting an eyelash when DeGeneres tried to pull her “scare the guest” prank by having someone leap out of table next to him.